Browns plan to use Embree's knowledge

Former Buffs coach helping Cleveland at combine

INDIANAPOLIS -- Because he sees tight ends as impact players, new Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said he wanted "the right guy" to coach them.

So he picked Jon Embree, a former Colorado coach and tight end.

Chudzinski hired Embree soon after the Buffaloes fired Embree.

"Just knowing what he's done, the kind of teacher he is, I'm excited about the work he can do for our team," Chudzinski said. "And having played the position himself, that should help us."

Embree has met with all of the tight ends at the NFL scouting combine -- including Nick Kasa, one of his former CU players.

Kasa was a defensive lineman with the Buffs before he moved to tight end as a senior. He said he spoke to Embree several times in the hallways of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Kasa credited Embree and former CU tight ends coach J.D. Brookhart for putting him in position to be selected in the April 25-27 draft. Embree had shown Kasa video of Tony Gonzalez and Chris Cooley, tight ends Embree coached when he was a NFL assistant.

"Watching film of the guys Embree had coached before in the National Football League, going through those guys ... (Brookhart and Embree) said it would be my position in the future," Kasa said.

Chudzinski said he's hoping Embree can help when the Browns set their draft board.

"That's the nice thing," Chudzinski said. "College coaches have some insight on guys they've coached, guys they've played against and guys they've recruited, so certainly in the grand scheme it's another piece of the puzzle.

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It's a bonus."

Osweiler update

John Elway, the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations, said he expects Peyton Manning's backup, Brock Osweiler, to get more work in preseason games this summer.

Manning attempted 42 passes in the preseason last year, his first with the Broncos.

Osweiler, a former Arizona State star, was a rookie last year. Caleb Hanie, another backup, attempted 39 passes in the preseason last year. Osweiler threw the ball 32 times.

"Brock will play a lot in this preseason," Elway said. "We'll get Peyton ready and Peyton will be able to dictate how much he wants to play, but after that, we're trying to train Brock."

Klein update

Kansas State's Collin Klein, a quarterback from Loveland and a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, will throw today at the scouting combine.

Klein has been working with former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer on his delivery and footwork.

Some NFL scouts and personnel executives are concerned about Klein's throwing motion.

"I have all the confidence I can make every throw that needs to be made," Klein said.

Klein also said he has no intention of changing positions until he has exhausted all of his opportunities at quarterback.

"That's my heart. I know I have the tools to do that," Klein said. "I know I'll bring a lot to the team at that position."

Footnotes

Offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, a CU product, ran the 40-yard dash Saturday in 5.01 seconds. It was among the best times in a fast group. Arkansas-Pine Bluff product Terron Armstead led with an extraordinary 4.65 time (unofficial clocking), believed to be a combine record for an offensive lineman. Armstead's time was 4.71 in his second 40. ... Kasa also worked out Saturday. His best 40 time was 4.71 (unofficial).

Te'o doing tough

balancing act

Manti Te'o walked into a crowded room of reporters Saturday, took a breath and settled in for 15 minutes of NFL scouting combine history.

Again, the former Notre Dame linebacker explained how he had been duped into an Internet romance he had with a girlfriend he never met. He did his best to turn the page on an embarrassing chapter by talking football. This time, he even got to see it play out on live television 12 yards away -- where three muted flat-screen monitors were in direct view of Te'o.

He answered every question with thoughtful deliberation and tried to provide clarity on a hoax that turned one of the nation's most inspirational college football players into the butt of national jokes.

"I cared for somebody. That's what I was taught to do ever since I was young. Somebody needs help, you help them out," Te'o said.

Later he added: "People doubted me because I took a while to come out. From our point of view, we wanted to let everything come out first, and then let my side come out. The way we did it, I thought, worked best for me."

Te'o's news conference was the most anticipated event of the NFL's second-biggest offseason weekend, which brought the makeshift media room inside Lucas Oil Stadium to a virtual standstill -- twice.

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